House Rent Law in Bangladesh: What the 1991 Act Says
Standard rent, rent increases, advance rent, receipts, eviction and the Rent Controller under the Premises Rent Control Act 1991, with section numbers and quotes from the official text.
Published 2 November 2026 · Updated 2 November 2026
The short answer
Under the Premises Rent Control Act 1991, rent above the standard rent cannot be recovered, and on application the Rent Controller fixes standard rent so that a year’s rent equals 15% of the house’s market value (ss. 7, 15). Advance rent above one month needs the Controller’s approval (s. 10). A rise from ৳15,000 to ৳16,500 is 10%.
The law and who it covers
The main law is the Premises Rent Control Act 1991 (বাড়ী ভাড়া নিয়ন্ত্রণ আইন, ১৯৯১), Act No. 3 of 1991. It covers a “house” (বাড়ী) let separately for residential, non-residential or both uses: a building or part of one, or a kutcha house, with its attached garden and yard (section 2(গ)). It applies in the areas where the earlier Premises Rent Control Ordinance 1986 was in force on 26 March 1989, and the government can extend it to other areas or lift it by gazette notice (section 1(2)). Section 33 says it does not apply to houses occupied by the government and by RAJUK, CDA, KDA and RDA.
Everything below is taken from the official text on bdlaws. Where a popular claim is not in the text, this page says so.
What the Act says, section by section
| Topic | What the Act says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Rent above standard rent | Cannot be recovered, whatever the agreement says. | 7 |
| Fixing standard rent | The Rent Controller fixes it on an application by the landlord or the tenant, at 15% a year of the house’s market value, worked out by the method set in the rules. | 15 |
| Re-fixing standard rent | On application, the Controller may re-fix it every two years. | 16(2) |
| Salami, premium, deposit | No one may demand or take a premium, salami, deposit (জামানত) or similar sum on top of the rent for letting, renewing or extending a tenancy (a 20-year development lease is the exception). | 10(ক), 11 |
| Advance rent | Not more than one month’s rent without the Controller’s prior approval. | 10(খ) |
| Furniture | Buying the landlord’s furniture cannot be made a condition of the tenancy. | 12 |
| Rent receipt | The landlord must sign and hand over a receipt at once, in the form set by the rules, and keep a counterfoil. | 13 |
| Money taken against the Act | The Controller can order a refund if the tenant applies within six months of paying. | 14 |
| Eviction | No court order to recover possession while the tenant pays the permitted rent in full and keeps the tenancy terms, except in the cases listed. | 18 |
| Repairs and utilities | The Controller can direct a landlord who is bound to repair or to maintain water, electricity, drainage or lift to do so. | 21 |
| Penalties | Fines for overcharging, taking more than a month’s advance, refusing a receipt and similar acts, on a written complaint to the Controller. | 23, 24, 26, 27, 28 |
| Appeal | To the District Judge within 30 days of the Controller’s order. | 30 |
Standard rent and rent increases
Section 7 is the core rule:
“কোন বাড়ীর ভাড়া মানসম্মত ভাড়ার অধিক বৃদ্ধি করা হইলে উক্ত অধিক ভাড়া, কোন চুক্তিতে ভিন্নরূপ কিছু থাকা সত্ত্বেও, আদায়যোগ্য হইবে না৷”
Standard rent (মানসম্মত ভাড়া) is the rent fixed by the Controller. Section 15 says how:
“উহার বাত্সরিক পরিমাণ বিধি দ্বারা নির্ধারিত পদ্ধতিতে স্থিরকৃত উক্ত বাড়ীর বাজার মূল্যের ১৫% শতাংশের সমান হয়৷”
The market value is “fixed in the manner prescribed by the rules”, so the Act itself gives no figure. As an illustration only: if a house’s market value were fixed at ৳50 lakh, 15% of it is ৳7,50,000 a year, or ৳62,500 a month.
Section 16(1) says that if fixing standard rent changes the rent being paid, the new rent is payable from the month after the application. Section 16(2):
“মানসম্মত ভাড়া, বাড়ী-মালিক বা ভাড়াটিয়ার আবেদনের ভিত্তিতে, প্রতি দুই বত্সর পর নিয়ন্ত্রক কর্তৃক ধারা ১৫ এর বিধান অনুযায়ী পুনঃ নির্ধারণ করা যাইবে৷”
Note what this says: the Controller may re-fix standard rent every two years, on an application by either side. We found no section of the Act that sets a fixed percentage for annual rises, or that says a landlord may raise rent only once in two years. Sections 8 and 9 do allow extra rent in two cases: by agreement when the landlord pays for additions, improvements or furniture after letting, and where the tenant is to pay municipal rates or taxes and the landlord agrees to pay them.
Worked example: how big is the rise?
Your landlord asks you to pay ৳16,500 instead of ৳15,000. To see the rise as a percentage:
- Rise = ৳16,500 − ৳15,000 = ৳1,500.
- Rise as a share of the old rent = ৳1,500 ÷ ৳15,000 = 0.10, which is 10%.
The Percentage Calculator does this in one step (percentage change), and our percentage calculation guide explains the formula. The percentage alone does not tell you whether the new rent is lawful: under section 7 the test is whether it is above a standard rent fixed for the house. If none has been fixed, the agreed rent is the rent that counts for section 18 (see section 18(6)).
Once the rent is settled, the Expense Split Calculator can divide it between flatmates, and the Mess Meal Calculator helps a shared mess keep rent and meal costs apart. To see what rent is of your pay, try the Salary Calculator.
Advance rent, deposits and salami
Section 10 has two limbs. The first bans extra money for letting, renewing or extending a tenancy:
“ভাড়ার অতিরিক্ত কোন প্রিমিয়াম, সালামী, জামানত বা অনুরূপ কোন অর্থ দাবী বা গ্রহণ করিতে বা প্রদানের জন্য বলিতে পারিবেন না৷”
The second limits advance rent:
“নিয়ন্ত্রকের পূর্বানুমোদন ব্যতিরেকে, অগ্রীম ভাড়া হিসাবে এক মাসের ভাড়ার অতিরিক্ত টাকা দাবী বা গ্রহণ করিতে পারিবেন না৷”
So, on the text, the advance is capped at one month’s rent unless the Controller approves in advance, and a separate “জামানত” (deposit) on top of rent is listed among the banned payments. Section 23(খ) and (গ) fine a person who demands or takes such sums. If you paid more than the Act allows, section 14 lets the Controller order a refund or adjustment, if you apply within six months of paying. Section 12 adds:
“কোন ব্যক্তি কোন বাড়ীর ভাড়ার জন্য বা উহার নবায়ন বা মেয়াদ বৃদ্ধির জন্য উহার আসবাবপত্র ক্রয়ের কোন শর্ত রাখিতে পারিবেন না৷”
Rent receipts
“বাড়ী-মালিক তত্ক্ষণাত্ ভাড়া প্রাপ্তির একটি রশিদ বিধি দ্বারা নির্ধারিত ফরমে স্বাক্ষর করিয়া ভাড়াটিয়াকে প্রদান করিবেন৷”
Section 13(2) tells the landlord to keep a counterfoil of the receipt. If a landlord refuses or fails to give a receipt, section 27 provides a fine: “আদায়কৃত টাকার দ্বিগুণ অর্থদণ্ডে দণ্ডনীয় হইবেন”, on the tenant’s complaint. Keep every receipt: a complaint under section 27 must be brought within six months of the offence (section 29).
Eviction
The central protection is in section 18(1):
“এই আইনের অধীন অনুমোদনযোগ্য ভাড়া যতদিন পর্যন্ত পূর্ণমাত্রায় আদায় করিবেন এবং ভাড়ার শর্তাদি পূরণ করিবেন ততদিন পর্যন্ত বাড়ী-মালিকের অনুকূলে বাড়ীর দখল পুনরুদ্ধারের জন্য কোন আদেশ বা ডিক্রি প্রদান করা যাইবে না৷”
The same sub-section lists exceptions where this protection does not apply: for example, the tenant breaks the conditions of the Transfer of Property Act section 108 (clauses (m), (c), (p)), sub-lets the house or part of it without the landlord’s written consent (unless the agreement says otherwise), behaves in a way that is a nuisance to neighbours, uses part of the house for business, or the landlord “প্রকৃতই প্রয়োজন” (genuinely needs) it to build or rebuild or for own use. Section 18(2) adds that the end of the tenancy period or a transfer of the landlord’s interest is not, by itself, a satisfactory reason if the tenant is ready and willing to pay the full permitted rent. Section 18(5) removes the protection from a tenant who does not pay the full rent by the date in the agreement or, without one, within the 15 days of the following month.
Notice periods: we did not find any notice period for ending a monthly tenancy in this Act. The Act speaks of court orders and decrees for possession, so if you receive a notice to leave, ask a lawyer how the rules on notice and on section 18 apply to you. Section 26 says a tenant who leaves must hand over vacant possession; section 24 fines a person who, while section 18 protects the tenant, wilfully cuts off a supply or facility under the tenancy.
If a landlord refuses rent sent by postal money order, or there is a real dispute about who should receive it, section 19 lets the tenant deposit the rent with the Controller within the time it sets out.
Landlord’s duties: repairs and utilities
Under section 21, where a landlord is bound by the tenancy terms or local custom to repair, or to maintain water, electricity, drainage or lift, the tenant can apply to the Controller, who can direct the landlord by notice. If the landlord does not act within 30 days of the notice, the tenant can ask the Controller’s permission to do the work and deduct the cost, capped each year at one-sixth of the rent payable that year. Section 21(5) says the landlord must in all cases do repairs without which living in the house is extremely hard. Section 32:
“কোন ভাড়াটিয়া তাহার ভাড়া বাড়ীতে ভাড়া-মালিকের বিনা অনুমতিতে লাইসেন্সী হইতে বিদ্যুত্ সরবরাহ পাইতে পারিবেন৷”
The Rent Controller and how to apply
- The government appoints a Controller (and additional or deputy controllers) for an area by gazette notice (section 3).
- Standard rent: a written application by the landlord or the tenant under section 15. The Controller must send both sides a registered-post notice before using a power under the Act (section 5).
- Hearing: within three months of the application, and within one month for a tenant’s application to repair at own cost under section 21(2); if that is not possible the reasons must be recorded (section 4).
- Complaints about fines (sections 23 to 27): in writing to the Controller (section 28).
- Appeal: to the District Judge within 30 days of the order (section 30).
The forms, fees and the method of valuing the house are set by the rules (বিধি) made under section 34, which are not covered here. Check the government notification for your area to see who the Controller is.
Claims you hear that are not in the Act
- “Rent can rise only once in two years.” The two-year period in section 16(2) is for the Controller re-fixing standard rent on application. We found no section that stops a landlord asking for a rise earlier or fixes a yearly percentage.
- A notice period such as 15 or 30 days to vacate. None is in this Act.
- City corporation or local guidelines. These are separate from the Act and are not covered here.
Has the Act been amended?
The bdlaws text we read shows no amendment notes. It repealed the Premises Rent Control Ordinance 1991 (Ordinance No. 2 of 1991) in section 36 and saved the Ordinance of 1986’s rules, orders and pending cases in section 35. We did not check court judgments or other rules; laws and rules change, so confirm on bdlaws before relying on this page.
Keep in mind
This is general information, not legal advice. Your written tenancy agreement, the area you live in, the rules and court decisions all matter. For a dispute, talk to a lawyer or the Rent Controller for your area.
Sources
- বাড়ী ভাড়া নিয়ন্ত্রণ আইন, ১৯৯১ (১৯৯১ সনের ৩ নং আইন), bdlaws (Bangla)
- বাড়ী ভাড়া নিয়ন্ত্রণ আইন, ১৯৯১, প্রিন্ট ভিউ, bdlaws (Bangla)
Checked on 2 November 2026.